While voice assistant features like Siri have potential, it might not necessarily be the most efficient way to retrieve information, especially if you spend half the time repeating yourself so that it understands you. In any case that feature has also become something of a staple in smartphones these days, with Apple releasing Siri, Google has their own take, and Samsung with S Voice as well, so it’s not surprising to think that Amazon could release a smartphone with their own brand of voice assistance.

According to a report by TechCrunch, it seems that Amazon has acquired Evi Technologys Ltd, which is basically a Siri-like software from the UK. Similar to Siri, Evi is expected to be able to perform the same tasks, such as searching, but at the same time it is also able to learn and produce better results the more it is used. Amazon and Evi have both declined to comment on the matter, but at the same time this rumor has added fuel to the speculation that Amazon could be looking to release their own brand of smartphones by the end of the year. Considering that they already have their Kindle Fire Android tablets, an Android smartphone would not be a stretch of the imagination.